1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to seating for an open bow pleasure boat that can be reconfigured into a deck.
2. Prior Art
Open bow pleasure boats capable of including seats for accommodating passengers in a forward or bow end of a power boat are, of course, well known. Such provide versatility in that they allow for the carrying of passengers forward of the boat operator or driver that, unless outfitted as a forward cabin, was useful only for storage. Such bow seating, however, except for carrying passengers, could only be used for unprotected storage, and is easily swamped during rough weather. To provide a cover for an open bow, operators have resorted to cutting or shaping sheet stock, such as marine plywood, to cover the open bow area, and fastening that sheet stock over the open area with a variety of fastening schemes to include screwing it is place, C-clamps, and the like. Such fastening schemes have generally been unsatisfactory in that the cover will often leak, is unattractive, and, of course, the cover has to be stored when not in use on the boat, minimizing its usefulness.
The invention is unique in that it provides fixed bench seats that have pivoting seat backs that are each movable between a vertical seat back attitude and a horizontal open bow covering attitude. Additionally, the seat backs can incorporate, respectively, an overlapping lip arrangement for sealing the junction of the seat back top or upper edges when they are in their open bow covering attitude, and provides seat back bottom edges that are moved over lip sections of edging formed around the open bow that seal with the lip sections when the seat backs is in an open bow covering attitude. Which seat backs can optionally also include sealing and locking arrangements whereby the top edges of the seat backs are maintained together, reinforcing their weight bearing capabilities with the seat back bottom edges when the seat back forward or bow ends are fitted or positioned onto open bow edging lips and lip sections. With such arrangement, the weight bearing character of the deck with the seat back top edges closed together is enhanced.